{
  "id": 7790114,
  "title": "China warns US space weapons could fuel arms race",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/china-warns-us-space-weapons-could-fuel-arms-race",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T12:46:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/china-warns-us-space-weapons-could-fuel-arms-race/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "China has urged the United States to cease its military expansion in outer space, warning that it could spark a global arms race. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, stated that Beijing opposes weaponizing space and turning it into a battlefield. \"We urge the U.S. to stop expanding military build-up in outer space, and uphold global strategic stability with concrete actions,\" Guo said during a press briefing on Tuesday.\n\nOn Monday, U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink confirmed that the United States possesses \"on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,\" marking the most definitive acknowledgment to date of U.S. weapons in orbit. However, Meink declined to specify the nature of these weapons.\n\nChinese state media, through its Global Times, alleged that the disclosure revealed Washington's pursuit of \"space hegemony\" and potentially ignited a global space arms race. Military analyst Song Zhongping told the newspaper that the acknowledgment signaled a shift from safeguarding space assets and utilizing ground-based counter-space systems to directly deploying weapons in orbit. If the U.S. persists on this trajectory, other nations may feel compelled to counter with their own space capabilities, Song warned.\n\nLast week, state news agency Xinhua commented on a U.S. military exercise in orbit, asserting that the push to weaponize this domain heightens the risk of a \"security dilemma.\" This could compel other countries to bolster their counter-space capabilities, which the United States might subsequently view as new threats.",
  "summary": "China urged the United States to halt its military build-up in outer space after Washington acknowledged it has weapons deployed in orbit, while Chinese state media warned the move could fuel a global arms race.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}